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Friday, July 06, 2012

FIFA, IFAB FINALLY APPROVES GOALINE TECHNOLOGY IN FOOTBALL, ALSO APPROVES THE USE OF HEAD SCARFS BY MUSLIM FEMALE PLAYERS

Goal-line technology in football was approved on Thursday by
the rule-making International Football Association Board (IFAB) with
immediate effect and is to be used for the first time at the Club World
Cup in December.

FIFA's general secretary Jerome Valcke, made the
announcement after a special meeting of IFAB which made the historic
decision unanimously.

In what is the biggest milestone in football since the introduction of
yellow and red cards in 1970, two systems - GoalRef and Hawk-Eye - can
be used to determine whether a ball has crossed the line or not.

The systems require final licensing in stadiums, and if successful at
the Club World Cup, are also to be used at the 2013 Confederations Cup
and 2014 World Cup.

National federations and leagues can decide on their own whether and
when to use the systems, with a mid-season 2012-13 introduction in for
instance the English Premier League not ruled out.

Goal-line technology can put an end to one of the hottest issues in the
game with such famous incidents as the Wembley goal in the 1966 World
Cup final (which appeared to be none) and disallowed goals at the 2010
World Cup and recent Euro 2012.

The development comes after FIFA president Sepp Blatter lent his weight
to calls for the technology to be introduced after Ukraine was denied an
apparent goal against England in the recent Euro 2012 championships,
losing 1-0.

The Scottish FA, along with the associations of England, Northern
Ireland and Wales, have one seat each of the IFAB, and are joined by
four Fifa members. Decisions require a three-quarter majority.

Welsh FA general secretary Jonathan Ford spoke of "fundamental and
momentous decisions" and his English FA counterpart Alex Horne named the
decision "entirely appropriate" and "great for football."

Other companies are invited to produce goal-line technology as well and
each licence in a stadium will be for 12 months, Valcke said.

The officials also said that there was no intention to introduce further
technology into the game, as feared by Europe's Uefa boss Michel
Platini.

The IFAB also approved the use of additional assistant referees for
events and tournaments who want to use them, such as Uefa did at Euro
2012.

IFAB also gave the nod to allow head scarfs in football for Muslim
female players, the latter two decisions also unanimous.

The head scarf
will require final details such as design, fabric and colour at an
autumn IFAB meeting.